Silver Seas
by belovedsoul
Summary: The seventh years are going on a five month worldwide cruise on a luxury cruiseliner, experiencing Hawaii, Australia, Paris, Alaska, etc. But what things can brew when Hermione and Draco are forced to room together? Evil? Hate? Pranks? Or maybe ... lust?
1. Graduation Night

Full Summary: It is Hermione's seventh year. Voldemort is dead, and Harry, Ron and Hermione are treated like celebrities for their aid in his murder. Even Draco Malfoy seems to be leaving them pretty much alone. Then Dumbledore announces something exciting. After graduation night, all the seventh years will go on a last farewell vacation to mark their seven years in Hogwarts. Namely, a five month trip consisting of a worldwide cruise, backpacking and roughing it, and of course, normal touristy things that are more fun than they have any right to be. If that was all, everything would have been just fine and dandy for Hermione. But what happens when - owing to Dumbledore's obsession with house unity - she is forced to live with the Slytherins? Especially her least favourite Slytherin - Draco Malfoy? What things could brew when two arch-enemies are forced to stay in close proximity of each other for longer than they can bear? Explosions? Tea? Vegetable fights? Cursing? Evil? Hate? Or maybe...love?

**Chapter One: Graduation Night**

Loud music pulsated through the Great Hall as the seventh-years danced to the drumming of the Weird Sisters - whose music Dumbledore seemed to be especially fond of. When the song ended, Hermione wound her way out of the crowd and sat down next to the punch table, exhausted. Ron had forced her to dance with him continuously for the past hour. The two of them had finally admitted their feelings for each other, and were now so lovey-dovey that Harry could hardly stand it.

Ron walked over and poured both of them a glass of punch. Hermione mock-glared at him through her sweat-drenched hair and accepted the punch gratefully. Ron grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry. I just like their songs alot," he said, motioning towards the Weird Sisters.

Hermione glanced over at him and noticed how adorable he looked, smiling at her in that sweet way of his. She smiled back and leaned over to kiss him.

Just then, Draco Malfoy passed them, with Pansy Parkinson clinging on to his elbow. He saw Hermione's action, but instead of mouthing off, he just turned away quickly. Pansy, however, laughed crudely.

"Aww, how sweet," she smirked to Malfoy.

"That was weird," Hermione said as she pulled back from Ron, raising an eyebrow.

"What, Parkinson's face?" he frowned. "I thought you would have noticed by now that she looks like a mutated pug."

Hermione shoved him gently. "No. I mean Malfoy. Usually, he would have made some smart comment. But he didn't."

Ron paused awhile. "Maybe. But I suppose he has to show at least some respect towards us since we made old Lord Voldy kick the bucket. I mean, he was threatening his family, wasn't he?" Ron snorted in contempt. "Now that he's dead, all Malfoy has to worry about is his whack job of a father."

Hermione scouted out Malfoy in the crowd, her eyes lingering. "...Ron, don't joke about stuff like that," she said softly. "Even Malfoy has to care about his family, however broken, frozen over and mutilated his heart is. I never actually imagined that he would cry, though. He just doesn't seem like that sort of person..." Hermione turned to look at Ron.

But he wasn't listening. He had just noticed the apple pie placed just out of reach next to the punch. And beyond that, blueberry muffins.

Hermione sighed as he tore off, drool flying.

Dumbledore thanked the Weird Sisters graciously as they packed up and left Hogwarts. The Graduation Night celebrations had just come to an end. Dumbledore surveyed the mass of students congregated before him, and smiled reminisciently.

"Seven years, seven years," he murmured. "And what fun it has been."

The students gazed back up at him, their faces pink from the exertion of dancing. They, too, wore peaceful smiles.

"I remember each and every one of you when you first came to Hogwarts. So young, so innocent. I hope that every one of you will remember the days in Hogwarts and look back upon them with a smile." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled through his half-moon glasses. "It is an exhausting, tiring world out there, so take comfort in your childhood days and strive on. I know that some of you have already accomplished much," he said, his eyes lingering on Harry, Hermione and Ron. "And your efforts will not go unnoticed. I wish you the best of luck in your adult years. Leave this school, go forth and show the world what you can do.

"However...You cannot leave Hogwarts this easily," Dumbledore said quietly. "Not without doing something first."

The students were confused, and a murmur drifted through the hall. Hermione noticed the teachers were looking stern, excepting Hagrid, who was fidgeting about nervously. She began to feel uncomfortable.

"Yes," Dumbledore continued. "I cannot let you leave ... for ..." he studied them expressionlessly, then drew and waved his wand so fast that nobody saw it coming.

A wave of confetti fell onto the students, and then suddenly all the teachers broke out into wide smiles. It was quite scary, actually, to see Mcgonagall and Snape grinning like maniacs. Then, Hagrid leapt out of his seat, accidentally kicking the staff table and knocking off all the teacher's plates in the process. The students in the front row jumped back impulsively.

"Yeh goin' on a vacation!" he fairly screamed at them excitedly.

Now everyone was thoroughly bewildered, and took no concern in disguising their surprise. The noise level rose to a distinct buzz.

"Yes," Dumbledore said with an amused look, raising his voice slighty to be heard over the chatter. "It is Hogwarts tradition to sponsor a five month long trip for their seventh-years when they leave school," he said. "Ah, yes, a tradition, though a very secret one. Everyone who knows of this has been sworn to silence. Even the mere existence of this event is unknown to those who have not taken part in it. Tale of it can not be found even in Hogwarts: A History." Hermione could have sworn he winked at her as he said that. She, like everyone else in the room, was startled and exhilarated to hear such news. Ron had paused his face stuffing. Apple pie slid slowly out of his mouth and onto the floor. The noise level grew a few decibels.

"The details," Dumbledore said loudly, and everyone immediately quietened. "Please listen carefully.

"Consent has already been given from your parents. We here at Hogwarts are rather good at persuasion - if I do say so myself. All of you have full permission. You will leave Hogwarts tomorrow via the Hogwarts Express and reach the London harbour by four o'clock. Please assemble here by six a.m.

"You will be staying on a cruiseliner for the most part of five months. Each of you will be rooming with five other students in a suite. We will be stopping at numerous locations around the world. The whole trip is entirely free, and you will not be required to pay for anything besides your own personal souvenirs and visits to unlisted locations in the countries we will pay league to. Also, for the purpose of house unity - " An audible groan went through the Great Hall. " - you will be rooming with people from different houses. A list of your roommates have been sent to you and are waiting on your beds.

"As the teachers cannot afford to leave the school for such a long period of time, a crew of wizards and house-elves will attend to you while on the trip. Please enjoy yourselves as much as you can as kids before you enter the realm of adulthood. But also, try not to give the crew too much trouble - they'll want extra pay."

And with that, Dumbledore sat down to his treacle tart and left them in disbelievement.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron filed out of the Great Hall, discussing the news excitedly.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe they didn't even say anything about this in Hogwarts: A History!"

"This is awesome!"

"Bloody wicked! ...What's a cruise liner?"

They followed the noisy crowd up to Gryffindor Tower and ran up to their dormitories. Hurriedly, Hermione grabbed the sealed envelope on her bed and rushed down to the common room to meet Harry and Ron. They tore open their envelopes and read the names enclosed with a nervous heart.

**The Sapphire Suite**

_1. Brown, Lavender_

"That's alright, I guess," Hermione muttered anxiously.

_2. Granger, Hermione_

_3. Patil, Parvati_

"Is it a coincidence that I'm getting my dorm-mates?" Hermione murmured.

_4. Longbottom, Neville_

Hermione breathed. "That's okay."

_5. Thomas, Dean_

"He's alright..."

_6. Malfoy, Draco_

She died on the spot.

"Hermione?" Ron said. "What's wrong? Who'd you get?" He craned his neck to read her list.

"Lavender ... Parvati ... Neville ... Dean ... Nice so far ... And - _bloody hell! Malfoy!_" Ron looked at her sympathetically. "Ouch, Hermione."

Hermione nodded and groaned. She glanced at his list, and found that he had been unlucky, and had three Slytherins.

"Padma - she never did dance well - got Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode, though," he grimaced. "Damn, I'm gonna be blinded by their ugliness by the end of this thing. And ... Crabbe and Ernie Macmillan." He moaned sadly.

Harry slid Hermione's and Ron's list from their hands, yelling respectively at the Slytherin's names. His list, however, contained no trace of a Slytherin.

"Well, only the best for the Chosen One I suppose," Ron sighed. Harry threw him a dirty look.

"But I've got _Malfoy_!" Hermione exclaimed. "He's going to be horrible."

"At least you've only got him," Ron said soothingly. "I've got _three_ idiots."

"Yeah, and he has been leaving us pretty much alone since we killed Voldemort," Harry said consolingly. "It's alright."

Hermione brightened just a little. "Maybe..."

"Come on, we've got to pack," Harry said, patting her on the back. "I still can't believe we're going on a five-month cruise ... whoa ..."

Hermione kissed Ron goodnight and Harry goodnight and waved goodbye. As she manoeuvred her things into her trunk, she couldn't help thinking of Malfoy.

"I never really believed he could cry," she murmured softly. The moon bathed her hair in gentle twilight; the wind whispering in the trees. Outside, a light rain began to fall.

Over in the Slytherin dungeons, Draco Malfoy stared at his list. He was the lone Slytherin. Slamming his face into his pillow, he let out a yell of frustration. Then someone knocked on his door.

"Drakie?" crooned a high-pitched voice. He didn't answer. He heard the door open as Pansy let herself in.

"Who'd you get?" she asked as she picked up his list from where it had fallen on the floor. She sat down on his bed. "I've got Weasel, ugh. And that big fat Bulstrode, retard Crabbe, loser Patil and stuck-up freak Macmillan." She lay down next to him and slid her hands around his head, pulling his face close to hers.

"I wish I could have gotten you, Dragon," she said in what she probably thought was a low, seductive voice. Draco thought she sounded like a cow - the cow that she was. Then she giggled and leaned in to kiss him. But Draco pulled away irritably. "I've got Granger," he growled. "And a whole lot of other useless Gryffindors."

"Oh, poor Drakie!" Pansy said highly, breaking his ear-drums in the process. "That Mudblood will give you hell."

Draco remained silent, thrusting his face back into his pillow. Pansy continued to lie there, still hoping for a kiss.

"Come here, Drakie," she said, pouting.

Draco groaned exasperatedly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Pansy. Just leave me alone tonight. I have to sleep." He waited awhile until he heard her leave, and then settled down, still thinking about Granger. He noticed how she had gotten prettier over the years, with her teeth having been shrunk, her hair tamed and her body toned. Scowling and shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he fell into an uneasy sleep.

That night his dreams showed a brown-haired girl who kept popping up like daisies in a meadow, while the sun faded and gave way to dusk. He watched the stars in the sky as the girl whacked him repeatedly with a pogo stick. Then, the scene morphed into a beach. The breeze curled the waves that crashed against the shore and whipped back his hair. He was sitting on the seaside rocks, with the girl next to him. She was leaning against him and they sat, watching the sunset. The sky was streaked with pink and vermillion. Draco opened his mouth to say something. "I - "

And then the dream ended. Draco opened his eyes groggily, irritated by his rude awakening. It was now morning. Pansy had jumped onto his bed.

"I've come to collect, Drakie!" she giggled, wrapping her arms around him.

Draco remembered what he had said to her the night before. But he was too tired to protest. Pansy slid her hands through his hair, meeting his lips and sliding her tongue into his mouth. Then she rolled off him and lay by his side.

"I love you, Drakie," she giggled into his ear.

The thought made Draco feel slightly queasy.

* * *

**A/N **_(Semi-important)_: About the cruise - I'm not going to be bothered with geography or anything or planning out a route. Ahem. I'm just twelve! I haven't learnt geography yet! The last time I looked at an atlas was when I was eight! So just tell me about the places you wanna see in here, and I'll try to put them in. Elaborate if you can. But try to keep it nice and safe, not like New York or anything where Hermione gets mugged - or worse. O.o. Cause I like happy fics. :D Oh yeah, in this fic Snape isn't evil, and him and Draco didn't go off gallivanting in his sixth-year. Or whatever. Point is, they're at Hogwarts.

And the reason I started this was because I have really no idea where my other fic is gonna go. Ehehe:) If I happened to look over any points that don't make sense, feel free to criticise. :)


	2. Anger and Water Fights

**Chapter Two: Anger and Water-Fights**

Hermione, Harry and Ron joined the group of seventh years cloistered in the Great Hall. Hermione glanced up and saw that the sky outside was dark and desolate. Rain pelted down in torrents and lightning streaked jaggedly across the sky, marring it with blinding flashes.

Soon, all the seventh years had boarded the Hogwarts Express. Hermione sat in the cabin with Harry and Ron, who were stretched out and dropping Chocolate Frogs absently into their mouths. Hermione gazed out of the winow at the gloomy scene. The rain had grown steadily. She felt nauseous at the thought of the churning sea - and of rooming with Malfoy. She still could not get over the unfortunate partnership. Sighing, she huddled tighter into her woolen sweater.

Somehow, the seventh years survived the long, dreary ride to King's Cross station. The the captain of the crew and a few subordinates met them at the station. The captain then announced that they would be traveling the rest of the journey in their respective suite groups.

"Emerald!" he yelled, gesturing to his left.

"Ruby!"

"Diamond!" A few others mirrored him.

"Sapphire!" called a stout looking woman. Hermione hurried over to her. Soon the rest of her group met up. Malfoy stared stonily at the opposite wall, refusing to look at any of them.

"You will be transported to the harbour by vans," the captain told them. "Two groups to one. Ruby and Topaz, Emerald and Garnet, Diamond and Sapphire..."

There were a number of vans waiting for them outside the station. Hermione followed the crew member through the rain and took the back seat of the van. The others filled up the front seats, until only the space beside her was vacant. And who but Malfoy was the last to enter? Hermione watched him, groaning inwardly. He cast a wary eye around, and seemed as frustrated as her as he slowly dragged himself to the rear and sat as far away as he could from her, practically moving into the walkway. Hermione suspected he would rather have stood.

Then the bus started with a jolt and Malfoy did almost fall out of his seat. Hermione rolled her eyes as he stubbornly remained in his awkward position. He had a look of irritation on his face. They went on treating each other like vapour, with Malfoy stumbling constantly and having to reposition himself.

Finally, Hermione got annoyed enough with his incessant fidgeting and moved nearer to kick him in the calf. He whipped around sharply and met her glare with a cold look of his own.

"Stop _moving_, Malfoy!" Hermione scowled. She had consistently been distracted from her book by his endless shifting.

"What's it to you, Granger?" Malfoy said icily.

"I'm trying to read," she snapped.

"Like I care. Deal with it," he answered coolly.

"Just move in!" Hermione snarled at him.

"No thanks, I'd rather not sit next to a Mud - you," Malfoy said evenly.

Hermione threw up her hands in frustration. After another half hour of silence, she finally got fed up of the squeaky disturbances and hurled her thick hardback at him. It whacked him on the head and fell to the floor.

"Granger!" he yelled, whipping around and turning furious grey eyes on her. "What the hell is your problem? That hurt, you ass!"

He bent down to pick up her book, presumably to throw it back at her, when he caught sight of the title.

"'Eclipse Thine Heart?'" Malfoy smirked. "What's this, reading romance novels now, are we? Get a life, Granger."

Hermione blushed and grabbed the book back from him. "At least I don't cry over it!" That being said, she kicked Malfoy into the aisle with her foot.

Finally, the vans rolled to a stop at the harbourfront. Malfoy and Hermione ran for the exit and salvation. The rain had ceased, but the ocean waves still churned and frothed with increasing ferocity. The captain met them on the dock. "Alright, your ship should be here soon," he said, smiling a game show host smile.

Everyone began grumbling at the wait, shuffling their feet.

After awhile, a ship began to glide into view.

"There it is!" some sharp-eyed idiot screamed in excitement. Everyone whipped around so fast they cricked their necks and nearly dislocated their spinal cord tissues. They began muttering and pointing at the humongous vessel. Emblazoned across the side of it in shiny silver letters were the words, 'The Hogwarter'.

"What kind of freakin' name is that?" Malfoy complained irritably under his breath. Well, not really under his breath, seeing as how Hermione could hear him from several feet away.

Hermione began to feel an anticipation build inside her. She had been too busy worrying about Malfoy to really comtemplate the fact that she was about to spend an entire five months traveling the world in a luxury cruiseliner. Suddenly the feelings just broke through and flowed forward as her dam of anxiety crumbled. Without warning, she began jumping and down and screaming joyfully, waving her arms about and whacking Neville on the nose.

Soon, the ship was anchored next to the dock and loomed over them while they gazed up at it in awe. Needless to say, almost none of them had been on a real ship before.

"I thank the Muggles for this!" some random girl yelled, causing the others to voice their agreement.

After waiting a long while, they could finally board the ship. Hermione ascended the high, long stairs. The crew led them through into the atrium where everyone promptly gasped.

There were three marble staircases arching off into the right, left and center that led to higher and yet higher walkways. Arches were etched into the walls, leading off to other rooms. Bars and lounges were scattered all over the place, clearly visible. An immense, intricately shaped half-moon glass skylight was built into the ceiling. Everything was made of a shiny marble or glass, so the atrium seemed to come alive with colours and reflections. The whole place was furnished beautifully, with warm golden colours greeting them. In the middle of the hall stood a gold fountain, shooting jets of silver water into the air. Around the fountain were several large, plush velvet couches. Glass elevators stood on the right, next to the reception desk. Soft, gentle music played all around them. Everyone was in complete awe.

The captain smiled. "Yes, beautiful, isn't it? But we have to get on to other matters. Each of you have been assigned to a suite, and I hope you know where you are. I shall call out the names of the suites, and I would like the respective groups to come up and collect the keycards. Then you can head up to your suites to unpack. Take the elevators if you wish. The floor number of your suites are printed on the cards.

"On your beds you will find a pamphlet containing a map of the ship. It also has information regarding meal times and details of the visits to other countries. The regular dining restaurant has appointed times and will only serve food then. However, there is no fixed time for meals at the Crescent Moon restaurant and you may go down to eat there whenever you wish. There is also a storage of food in your suite. However, it would be better if you could all eat together in the regular dining area. Meal times are great for idle chat, you know.

"Also, Dumbledore has expressed his wish that you socialise with your own suite members. I understand that you may have difficulties and differences, but try to be tolerant. The whole point of this cruise is to unite houses and give you a break before you have to go back to the working world. Out there you will encounter many unfortunate situations which require you to work with people you don't like, so you may as well get used to it now.

"You may do whatever you wish for the next five months. But as we alight at different countries, I hope you will adhere to our safety boundaries. Watches will be extremely useful. Please be back by the time we ask you to, for we will leave on the dot.

"One more thing. I know that you are all of age. However, we request that you do not use magic on this trip. We will know if you do. We would like to see if you can get along and live in harmony with your roommates without it. Even for the most skilled wizard, it is not advisable to depend heavily on your wand. You will be surprised at how much harder some things are without magic.

"There is only one more thing I request of you. Have fun."

The captain beamed at them again. Most of the students had fallen half-asleep from his monologuing. They jerked back to full attention when they realised he had finished. Everyone unconsciously wore grins bigger than the ship itself from their excitement. Hermione could barely stem her emotions herself.

The crew began calling out the suite names. When 'Sapphire' was called, Lavender, Parvati, Hermione, Neville, Dean and Malfoy all took their cards from the attendant and walked towards the elevator. Lavender and Parvati were giggling incessantly and squealing at regular intervals. The rest were barely suppressing the urge to scream and hop around like bunnies. Excepting Malfoy. He just looked nonchalant.

Then the elevator 'pinged' and everyone ran out and along the corridor, searching for the suite entrance.

"Found it!" Lavender finally screeched. Without waiting for the rest to catch up, she slid her keycard in the machine and threw the door open. They heard her shriek in joy. Hermione joined up with her quickly and gasped in awe, perhaps even more loudly than in the atrium.

"I think I'm going to be perfectly fine without magic," said Hermione wryly.

The suite was large, with windows that gave a view of the rolling sea below. The door opened to the main room. There was a 60-inch television set placed in the nearest corner to the door. There were red velvet couches - much like the ones in the atrium - in front of it. A large refridgerator stood next to the built-in cupboards in the wall. It was stuffed full of frozen and junk food. A microwave and kettle were placed on the counter next to it. The kitchen section took up less than half of the space. It was separated from the recreational section by a long bar top-like counter. High four-legged stools were placed in front of it. Also, spread across the rec portion of the room were numerous beanbag chairs.

The main room led off to two spacious bedrooms, with three beds each. The bedrooms were connected through two joint bathrooms. The first room was decorated with flowing red silk curtains and bedspreads. The beds were against the left side of the room. Pictures of romping and sleeping puppies decorated the walls. The carpeting was of the softest white faux fur. A long joint mahogany closet took up the whole north wall. It had three separate sections and doors. The bathroom doors were built into the right side of the room.

The other room was mostly the same, except that it had light blue navy spreads and pictures of the sea instead of puppies. The girls decided on the red room - because the puppies were adorable. The bathrooms were larger than normal hotel standard too. The bathtub was almost the same size as their own king-sized beds and the taps were adorned with delicate crystals.

"What's next, a gold toilet seat?" asked Dean amusedly with an eyebrow raised.

After unpacking and gushing over the suite some more, they all met in the rec room, settling down in bean bags or couches.  
"You know, I think I love Dumbledore," said Dean with his eyes closed. He was stretched out on a three-seater.

"Well, duh," answered Lavender absently, busy burying Parvati in bean bags. "This totally rules!"

Hermione was absorbed in the pamphlet. "It says here we're going to Iceland first!"

"Iceland?" Parvati frowned. "Isn't it, like, all cold there?"

"Hmm, I dunno," Lavender said sarcastically. "I suppose _Ice_land is all warm and tropical."

"I didn't bring any winter clothes!" Parvati wailed. "Where am I supposed to get them now?"

"There's a boutique down on one of the lower decks," Hermione told her, idly flipping through the pamphlet.

Parvati grabbed Lavender and they both ran towards the elevator and took it down, chattering excitedly. Half an hour later, they both came back, armed with bags of clothes.

"You don't have winter stuff too?" Dean asked Lavender.

"No, I do, but everything was just so cute!' Lavender exclaimed, promptly bursting out into giggles. Hermione rolled her eyes but with a smile on her face.

"I'm bored," Malfoy said haughtily, apparently irritated that he was being left out of the conversation. "It's bad enough I have to room with all you...people. I'm not going to waste five months doing nothing."

Glancing at him glowering at them, Lavender and Parvati started giggling - again. Neville seemed to have been forgotten, and was watching everyone else silently.

Hermione ignored the two girls and began reciting their entertainment choices.

"We could to the gym. There's also a spa. And a theatre...but they don't have any plays or movies on today. Or we could to the arcade. Or go to some lounge and laze around 'people-watching'. Or play ping-pong slash badminton. Or go to the disco - no that's only at night. Or...we could go for the classic swimming."

"Swimming!" yelled Dean, thrusting his fist into the air. "Let's go," he said abruptly, sitting up and going into his room to change.

Lavender and Parvati ran into the room, already discussing what bathing suits to wear. Hermione and Neville went into their own rooms too at a non-insane pace.

In a matter of minutes, they were by the side of Dolphin Lagoon; which was they had christened the expansive pool. A high water slide stood next to it, and Dean, Lavender and Parvati immediately rushed for it, laughing. Neville was sliding himself gingerly into the water. Hermione and Malfoy were lounging on deck chairs, completely ignoring each other. He was wearing black swimming trunks, and her, a dark green one-piece suit. She had never been as daring as Lavender or Parvati.

Hermione lay on the deck chair, sunning herself with her eyes closed. Malfoy was reading something. Curious, she idly slid open an eye and glanced at the title of his book. Then, suddenly, she jumped up and yelled, "You hypocrite!"

Malfoy had shot out of his chair as well. "What? You can read it but I can't?"

"You're the one who criticised me in the first place!" Hermione shrieked at him, running forwards and snatching the her copy of 'Eclipse Thine Heart' out of his hands.

"So?"

Hermione was getting extremely irked by his unreasonable disposition. Without thinking, she shoved him angrily - causing him to fall right into the pool. He surfaced, spluttering, before she even realised what she'd accidentally done. Furious and eager for revenge, Malfoy grabbed her around the ankles and pulled her into the pool. Hermione growled and splashed water into his eyes. He retaliated and they had a mini water-fight - completely maniacal now - when they realised they were actually having fun.

The others had by then noticed the goings-on and Dean cheered and yelled, "Gung ho! Go Hermione!"

But she was already making for the side of the pool, shocked that she had actually been having a _water_-_fight _with her worst enemy - and not trying to claw his eyes out at the same time. Malfoy had realised this at the same moment, and seemed as horrified as her.

Hermione had already climbed out of the pool when she noticed her expensive, limited edition copy of 'Eclipse Thine Heart' floating serenely in the water.

**A/N :** Why Iceland? It's one of the familiar places I know and it's quite close to the U.K. I was looking at the Atlas and decided that since of course there will be romance in Paris, it was too near. Because there're still enemies, after all. I'm trying to slowly dissipate their hatred. And besides, as the Queen of Duct Tape said, cocoa does evoke cute scenes. :) I like the cold anyway. I'm trying to work on a route, even though I said I was too lazy. I want it to at least make a little sense. I think. Bleh. Research is boring. But I know Paris and Hawaii are definitely in. They always are.

Queen of Duct Tape - Yeah, hehe I actually was thinking of putting the Bermuda Triange in. :)

LiLbLueangeL1223 - Was thinking about that too. Heh. But I haven't ever _been _to Disneyland - I know, it's unheard of - so I'll have to do some more research. :( Or perhaps one of you could save me the trouble and recount your experience. :P

Weirdly - I dunno about that, I'm not really familiar with Ron/someone ships. Besides, Pansy's too obsessed with Draco anways. Heh. Maybe a little with Padma, (he did go to the Yule Ball with her) but I'm trying to concentrate on DM/HG first.

I'm doing too much research on these things. Hee. Since I've never been on a cruiseliner before, I went and looked stuff up. It may not be that accurate though. I was half-lazy and it was boring. But anyway I hope this update was fast enough. :D But I can't really write that much on weekdays cause of school. Sigh. It's break this week. But starting tomorrow I'll have to go back. Nuuuuuuuuuuuuu... (sobs) Ah well. Well, so I definitely won't be doing a chapter a day updates. :(


	3. Tiramisu and Iceland

Finally, I've managed to get another chapter up. I'm really sorry for the wait. My teachers have been throwing projects at us (even when the exams are already _over_) and I have dance classes three times a week. Well, here it is anyway.

**Chapter Three: Tiramisu and Iceland**

Hermione glared at Malfoy as she dried her copy of 'Eclipse Thine Heart' with a hair-dryer she had found in the bathroom. He was currently pretending not to notice, reclining lazily on the couch. The rest of the group glanced between the two of them.

"I'm bored," Lavender sighed. "Let's go do something else."

"As long as it doesn't have anything to do with _water_," Hermione said icily, hurling daggers at Malfoy with her eyes. "Or totally destroying someone's precious belongings."

Malfoy got up, stretched, and walked back to his bedroom. Hermione scowled after him and glared at his retreating back. Then she turned her glare to the rest, who began humming loudly and fastidiously avoiding her gaze. So she turned her fiery stare to the door instead.

"I'm hungry," Dean said. "Let's go get something to eat." Everyone else consented and they stood up.

"What about Malfoy?" Parvati asked.

"Leave him!" Hermione snarled with such uncommon ferocity that everyone backed away slowly and half-ran down the corridor to the lift.

The dining area was light and airy, and the group sat down at a corner table. The area had a mixture of delicious smells - roasted beef, pasta, fried chicken...The aroma made Hermione realise how hungry she was too. It seemed to have the same effect on everyone else, for Neville had already snatched up a menu and Parvati and Lavender were eyeing the buffet table with a tortured look in their eyes. Dean cleared his throat and hollered for a waiter. A house-elf came scurrying up to them immediately.

"Yes, how is I to be helping young masters and mistresses?"

They placed their orders at a rapid-fire pace; mostly because of their hunger and Dean urging them to hurry up so that he could have his sacred tiramisu.

"What's tiramisu?" everyone asked at the same time.

"Heaven in your mouth," Dean answered smoothly.

After they had all finished their main course, Dean practically jumped on the house-elf and half-shouted, "Tiramisu! For everyone!" he added quickly before anyone could object.

"But Dean, I wanted the Triple Mega Ultra Creamy Scrumptious Fudge-Mocha-Vanilla-Chocolate Honey Coated Strawberry Fields Banana Split!" Neville protested.

"But by the time you finished saying that, it would have been Christmas!" Dean replied exasperatedly. "Tiramisu is good, - no, awesome - trust me!"

"What is it in the first place?" Lavender asked, eyebrows raised.

"Hmm...how do you describe it...? It's just, simply put, God's most wondrous creation on the face on living earth. It's an Italian dessert. Think a very light chocolate pudding. Seriously light. Lighter than that. It's as soft and weightless and smooth as whipped cream. Mocha-flavoured whipped cream. Then, there's this rich feeling you get in your mouth. It's light, yet somehow substantial. The espresso coffee in it just beautifies your mouth. And lastly, you taste a hint of liquor, and then a small breath of chocolate, before it's gone. Then you feel like you're floating in the sky, with wispy clouds and dreamy angels...especially the first time you taste it. It leaves a never-forgotten taste in your memory - _that's _tiramisu. "

Now everyone was staring at him, fearing for his sanity. Drool was beginning to slide slowly out of his mouth. He had a faraway expression on his face.

Just then, the tiramisu arrived. Needless to say, Dean pounced on it, hailed the house-elf - who looked frightened - and began shoveling the dessert into his mouth.

Hermione poked it with her spoon gingerly. It had been served in a glass goblet. It was streaked beige and brown with the mocha, and was sprinkled with shaved chocolate. She took a small, tentative spoonful and froze.

It was exactly like Dean had described. In a few moments, everyone was in heaven. When their glasses were empty, Dean called for more until they had devoured three helpings.

"Dean, I love you," murmured Parvati as she dreamily slid in another spoonful of tiramisu.

The rest all voiced their appreciation and Dean grinned. "Too bad for Malfoy, eh?"

Hermione, drunk with the heavenly taste being evoked in her mouth, being laughing evilly. She had never been so content and relaxed in her life. It had always been study, study, study, sleep, study, study, eat. Now it was vacation, sleep, eat, scowl at Malfoy, sleep, relax, laugh, friends, eat, tiramisu, tiramisu, tiramisu.

The feeling was heightened even more as she suddenly spotted Harry and Ron making their way together to her table.

"Harry! Ron!" she waved them over joyously. "Come have some heaven!"

They pulled up chairs and sat on either side of her. She grabbed Dean's tiramisu from him - amidst loud protests - and shoved it towards Harry. She gave her own to Ron, kissing him on the cheek and laughing.

"What's this?" Harry asked, poking at it like Hermione had done before.

"Tiramisu," she said.

"What's tiramisu?"

"Heaven in your mouth," everyone answered simultaenously.

Needless to say, Dean received many thankful hugs and kisses at the end of dinner.

As they bade goodbye to Harry and Ron, Hermione smirked at the thought of Malfoy up alone in bed, his stomach aching with hunger.

Draco lay alone in bed, his stomach aching with hunger. He had heard the others go out, but hadn't wanted to join them. He got up from bed and walked to the door, intending to head down to get some much needed food. Just then, the door burst open and the rest of his suite members walked in, very happy and very bubbly.

Upon seeing his surprised expression, Hermione smirked and laughed. "Tiramisu," she said in a singsong voice to the others, her mind still somewhere in heaven. They promptly erupted into laughter again.

Draco shook his head and muttered, "Bloody confused Gryffindors." As he walked out the door, he called over his shoulder, "It was nice knowing you when you were sane!"

Later that night, when they were all doing their own thing in the suite, they heard an annoying 'duhn-duhn-duhn' sound, and the voice of the captain rang out of the loudspeaker on the wall as clearly as though he was in the same room as them.

"Students, please note that you will alight at Iceland in three days. You will leave at five-thirty in the morning. Please have all your belongings packed by the day before. An alarm will sound at three-thirty to wake you. Iceland is rather cold, so having warm clothing is essential. It is advisable to bring sturdy shoes or boots, a warm wind and rainproof jacket and trousers, gloves, a ski cap and sunglasses. You will move around in your groups and must remain with them. That is all. Thank you."

Parvati and Lavender started squealing in excitement. Dean looked melancholy.

"They don't have tiramisu in Iceland, do they?" he asked Hermione sadly as she passed. Malfoy, who had been lying half-asleep in a bean bag nearby, glanced at the two of them and frowned at Dean.

"Tiramisu?"

"Heaven in your mouth," Dean and Hermione replied.

They spent the next few days having as much fun as they could on the ship. First, they went to the gym, where everyone tried to bully Neville into doing a backflip. Malfoy finally got fed up and pushed him so that he was bent over the cylindrical equipment aid and forced his legs up and over his head. When Neville emerged, he was red-faced, shocked and furious. Back in the suite, he turned to Hermione for plans for revenge, as she was the closest friend he had in the suite group.

Hermione wasn't exactly Fred or George, but she still managed to come up with a few Malfoy-worthy ideas. Consequently, when Malfoy was taking a nap on the couch, Neville looked at Hermione for encouragement, and crept right up to his side. Dean, Lavender and Parvati had been filled in and were watching on the sidelines, suppressing their laughter. Neville took Malfoy's head in his hands and shook it wildly. Of course, Malfoy woke up immediately and began shouting. Neville kept to the plan and screamed, "Bloody hell! Killer tomatoes from beyond!"

Whereby Dean promptly unearthed two tomatoes from behind his back and threw them at Malfoy's face. They hit him with perfect precision. Malfoy struggled to get up, but Neville jumped onto his chest and yelled in his face, drool flying.

"Hallelujah! Cue confetti!"

Lavender ran up and threw bits of shredded lettuce onto Malfoy. They dropped down and stuck to the remains of tomato on his face. He started spitting and coughing.

"A healthy life, a healthy life, healthy healthy and you'll meet no strife!" Neville screeched, bouncing and slamming against Malfoy's chest.

Parvati stepped up with a can of green peas. She knelt down beside Malfoy and began to force-feed him.

"Here comes the airplane! Shoom shoom shoom!" she cackled madly, stuffing large amounts of peas in Malfoy's mouth. When he finally gathered enough sense to shut it, she shrugged and dumped the rest on his carefully arranged platinum blond hair. It lay there like green gunk, sliding off his hair and into his ears.

Finally, Hermione ran up and bent over the back of the couch.

"Merry Christmas, Emilo Lopez Joaquin Desmond Aluya Shimmy-Shimmy Mesa Boom!"

And then, all doing their 'evil-laughs' insanely, they hauled him out of the couch and surrounded him.

"_Tiramisu_!"

Malfoy took one look at their faces, twisted up with mad laughter, broke through the circle, threw open the door and fled without a backwards glance.

"Freaking insane Gryffindors!" they heard him yell as he ran down the corridor.

Malfoy didn't reappear for the rest of the day. They assumed he had decided to spend the night over at one of his Slytherin friend's suite, and thought nothing of it. The next day though, they woke up to an unpleasant surprise.

When Hermione opened her eyes, it occured to her that there was something weighing her down. Something sticky. She reached down and felt around, then withdrew her hand immediately with a cry of disgust. Sitting up, she found that her whole body was simply covered with a weird green slime - the kind that they use in game shows. Looking around, she realised that Lavender and Parvati had been targeted too, and were trying in vain to get the guck off themselves. The floor had also been hit - the whole place was covered in the cold, thick liquid. Also, toilet paper had been strung high and low all over the room, so you coudn't even move without a whole long strip of it getting stuck to you.

Hermione waded through the mess and into the boys' room. Neville and Dean had apparently just woken up and were looking horrified. They had also been struck, but Malfoy's bed and the area around it remained oddly clean.

Hermione trudged back to the rec room and found Lavender and Parvati glowering darkly. Neville and Dean had followed her out and were looking murderous. Then, as though by an unspoken signal, all five of them yelled at the same time.

"_MALFOY_!"

Somewhere farther along the corridor in another suite, Malfoy smirked.

When Malfoy eventually came back to the suite, they had all showered and were starting to clear up the gunk. When the door opened, they whipped around immediately and began shouting.

"Idiot! You braindead Slytherin!"

"Freakish gormless goon!"

"I'm gonna get you, Malfoy!"

"Go to hell, Malfoy!"

But Neville just sighed and said, "Look, let's call a truce, okay? We're already stuck cleaning up this mess. I'm not going to do this again."

"Just get a house-elf in," Malfoy said dismissively. "Don't you people use your brains?"

So they did, Hermione albeit reluctantly, ("The poor house-elves! This is all your fault, Malfoy!") but they still had to evacuate their suite for the day. After hurling a few more curses at Malfoy, they began wandering around until they came to a double-door marked 'Theatre'. They opened it to find a lush auditorium with an enormous stage in the middle, framed with blood red velvet curtains. The seats were like normal cinema ones, though a lot more comfortable. A movie was already in screening. Having nothing better to do, they sat down and watched 'Shrek 2'. After which Dean kept repeating the opening lines to the movie.

"Once upon a time, in a land far, far, away, a king and queen were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. And throughout the land, everyone was happ-"

He was silenced by Parvati, who slapped a hand across his mouth, shaking her head.

"I think the poor old boy's finally gone senile," she stage-whispered to Lavender.

On the last day before Iceland, they visited the indoor badminton courts, where Malfoy blatantly refused to play, and left halfway through the game to look for his friends. Hermione was the only one who actually knew how to play, and taught them all patiently. Unsurprisingly, Lavender and Parvati picked it up quickly, whilst Neville struggled to even hit the simplest shot, panting. Then, Hermione went off looking for Harry and Ron, while Neville went back up to the suite to rest. Lavender and Parvati decided to play a few more games.

She found them at the arcade, where they were taking turns on a life-size motorcycle, playing - and losing - a kind of race and destruction game. They were obviously engrossed in it, and barely heard her wish them good luck in Iceland.

"And I thought Quidditch was bad," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head.

That night, everyone turned in early as they would be waking up even before daybreak and leaving for Iceland soon after. But even after nine hours of sleep, Hermione still felt groggy when she was awoken by what sounded suspiciously like a foghorn issuing from the loudspeakers.

"Up and at 'em, people!" the captain sang, way too preppily for four-thirty at night. "You _have _to get off the ship by five-thirty. Even if you're in pyjamas and fluffy bunny slippers."

The crack about the slippers certainly got everyone up. After a long, hot shower, Hermione pulled on a few sweaters and jeans and double checked her trunk.

Before they knew it, it was four-thirty and they were walking down from the ship, their trunks being hastily levitated down by the crew and house-elves before any Muggles showed up. From the ship, they were picked up by Land Rovers and driven to a hotel in Reykjavik. It was cold enough so that a light powder of snow was falling. It made Hermione wish she had a tankful of hot chocolate.

They were dropped off at CenterHotel Klöpp, a stylish building with a handsome wooden double-door whereupon an old-fashioned brass doorknob was situated. The name of the hotel was emblazoned over it in large capitalized letters. There were modern glass windows above and on either side of the door, looking out into the street and reflecting the perfect blue sky above. It had an attractive colour scheme; smart brown with greys and calm beige.

They were each assigned a room, and went upstairs to unpack. Hermione's room was simple and modern, with dark green curtains, white walls, leather chairs and plain wooden tables. A small television and phone were placed in a corner of the table. Hermione switched the television on idly. It had cable, but most of the programmes weren't in English.  
They were free to do what they liked until nine, so Hermione went off looking for Harry and Ron. But once she stepped out of her room, she bumped in Malfoy. He rolled his eyes and stepped out of her way. She couldn't help noticing how...attractive he looked when he was annoyed, with his hair falling into his eyes. The realisation hit her with the force of a freight train, and she shook her head hastily to get rid of the thought._ No, no, no, no, no. He's ugly, ugly, ugly and that's final_, she thought firmly.

Malfoy knocked on one of the doors down the corridor, which was thrown open immediately. Malfoy was greeted by an enthusiastic Pansy, who jumped on him and began giggling excitedly.

"Ooh, isn't this _fun_, Drakie? We're actually in Iceland!" she squealed, then moving her hands up to Malfoy's hair and starting to kiss him passionately. Or rather - slobber and drool over him.

For some reason, Hermione felt annoyed with Pansy. She watched Malfoy half-heartedly return the kiss and felt anger flare up in her. But...why should she? It wasn't her business if Malfoy wanted to snog anyone. She turned away, but she still couldn't help feeling a tiny bit - could it be? - _jealous _of Pansy. Wait, she had _not_ just thought that. She hated Malfoy - he was an ugly, stuck up bastard. Of course. Certainly.  
_  
Ah...ugly? _said a nasty little voice in her head. _Didn't you say he was attractive? _The voice cackled evilly.  
_  
Shut up_, she thought back fiercely.__

Okie.

After half an hour of fruitless searching, Hermione was unable to locate either Harry or Ron, and retired to her room in exhaustion. It was now almost nine. Hermione pulled on her boots, a jacket, gloves and a ski cap, then proceeded downstairs to meet up with the other suite members.

They piled into a large, expanded Land Rover, and began driving along the main road, heading east. She ended up in a left corner seat with malfoy next to her, as for some reason, they were always lagging behind the group. Dean sat on Malfoy's right. The rest were up front. After a long while, they began entering the wild areas, and Hermione began noticing the beautiful scenery.

Snow capped the tops of the enormous craggy brown mountains, and beaches were formed of black sand where the incredibly blue waves gently caressed the shore. Grass spread around them in wide plains, and the cold, fresh air whipped their hair back and touched upon their senses. They all felt that magical, indescribable sense of freedom one gets when one is closest to nature. The feeling that makes you want to jump about and yell in joy.

After awhile, they reached the foot of the Eyjafjallajökull massif. A river of brilliant water cascaded down from the top of the great looming cliff, catching the light and glittering like diamonds.

Then they drove on along a mountain track to reach snow level. A couple of hours later, they reached Mýrdalsjökull, Iceland's fourth largest glacier. They got off and admired the expanse of pure white ice in front of them. Then they were greeted with a surprise.

"Are you having fun?" the captain grinned broadly. He was answered by a resounding 'Yes!' and happy, flushed smiles of their own.

"Well, you're about to have even more!" he pointed behind them, and everyone whirled around and gasped.

There stood a long line of snowmobiles. Instantly, most of the crowd began jumping up and down or cheering in excitement. The snowmobiles were made for two, and they were paired up quickly by hasty-looking crew member. Parvati was with Lavender, Neville with Dean, and that only left...Malfoy. The crew member moved fast and pushed them down onto the snowmobile, belting them in, too busy to notice their shock and horror. Then, he moved off again at a rapid pace to deal with another group.

When everyone was settled, the captain beamed at them.

"No time to waste, it doesn't matter who you're with! We're all friends here! Don't go too far or fast, though! If you want to drive later, just let them know, but let it be for now, you'll get your turn! Oh, but if you don't actually _know _how to drive it, then I suppose you will _have _to switch... Alright, let's not dawdle any more...start your engines!"

Malfoy looked startled, but he fumbled for the handles and started it. The snowmobile roared to life, beginning to fly across the glacier. Shrieking, Hermione did the only sensible thing she could think of - wrapping her arms around Malfoy's waist and holding on for dear life. She felt him stiffen, but he didn't remark. The machine streaked across the snow, sending sprays of wet ice flying into their faces. Everything went so fast - every turn, every breath you took was exhilarating. Suddenly, Hermione thought she heard Malfoy laugh. A real laugh, of joy, not in comtempt or insult. It felt...nice to finally see him actually happy.

Just then, they skidded over a slight bump, and the snowmobile was airborne for a second. Hermione let out a small squeal, but it suddenly morphed into full-out giggles. She definitely heard Malfoy laughing along with her.

And at that one moment, she felt completely content and at peace.

After an hour, they were stopped by the crew. Everyone wore faint tranquil smiles. They made their way back to the Land Rover, for the trip back to Reykjavik. On the return journey, they drove by the shore, riding on the smooth black sand with the relaxing sound of the crashing waves coaxing them into a light, dreamless sleep. They stopped at the beautiful, picturesque waterfalls of Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss. The waterfalls were surrounded by fauna. The mist gathered around them as they approached. Seljalandsfoss was falling off a protruding segment of the cliff, and there was ground underneath for them to walk on. Hermione lingered on the grass, eyes half-closed, listening to the rhythmic beating of the water falling into the deep, blue pool. Mist had shrouded her, and she sensed, but could not really make out the person who suddenly got down onto the ground near her. She continued breathing in the scent of nature, completely immersed in it's depths. The person beside her seemed to be doing the same. She wondered who at Hogwarts was as sentimental as her. Curiosity getting the better of her, she glanced to her left. Sensing her gaze, the person turned to look at her too, but neither could yet make the other out. Then, fate played it's cards, and the mist gradually dissipated.

Hermione found herself locked in a gaze with none other than Draco Malfoy.

He seemed equally surprised, but didn't break eye contact. They both found themselves breathing rather louder than necessary. Caught up in the moment, Hermione noticed just how beautiful Malfoy's eyes were. A deep, intense grey, flecked with silver kaleidoscope facets that reflected the light and framed with a ring of raven black.

Just then, the captain called for everyone to get back in the Land Rovers for the remaining trip back, and with the spell broken, they stood up wordlessly and left.

That night, Hermione lay in bed thinking of those eyes.

* * *

**A / N : **This was rather a fun chapter to write. I'm sorry it took so long, I've been so inconceivably busy with school and numerous things that I couldn't even find time to use the computer. Even preteens like me have a life. Blehz. Sorry, though. I wrote this whole chapter today. It's much longer than usual, but I just had so much to say. :) I went researching about Iceland, and found that it's actually very touristy. I hope this satisfies you. I put a lot of work into it, as I originally didn't know a single thing about Iceland. Or about snow, or snowmobiles, and whatever, because I don't _have _snow in my country. T.T I don't think snowmobiles have belts, but let's just assume they have _special _ones, because I want a reason for Draco and Hermione to stay still. :) The hotels and places and whatnot are actual, and I tried to describe them as best as I could with my meagre knowledge. :) Let me know if it's good enough!

_Explanations -_

**The Greenland/Iceland dispute:** Actually, I am in fact aware that Greenland is _colder _than Iceland. However, Iceland has a surface temperature of 2 degrees Celsius during November/December - or 28 degrees Fahrenheit. I wouldn't exactly call that warm. I live in a country of 31 degrees Celsius, and I find that really really really cold. Greenland has a temperature of maybe about 0 to -5 degrees C. It varies. However, I think that both countries are considered cold. They certainly don't have a tropical climate. And if you will note, I never said that Iceland was _colder _than Greenland. I just said it was cold. Cold enough for hot chocolate, anyway. I thought a specific person was rather rude when voicing his/her opinion, but the rest were beautifully polite. Thanks to all! I love you for reviewing! ;) You give me motivation to continue this.

**mrs skywalker: **Well, yes, I know that normally cruise rooms are small. But then again, this is a ship built specifically for the seventh-years of Hogwarts. Normally a large ship would accomodate about maybe over a thousand people. Two thousand if you like. And the whole seventh grade of Hogwarts has like, what, fifty people at the most? There are only five Gryffindor boys, and four houses, so it should be around that number. Now that I think about it, their rooms are puny. I should have made them freakishly huge. Er...let's just fill up the empty space with tons of recreation. :)

Also, I know about the length. But this idea was also half-derived from a Chinese drama series I was watching. They had this Love Boat that went around the world for six months. Mine's only five. :P Anyway, the longest reality cruise is a month. But this isn't reality. I have faith in Dumbledore. I think he can pull a five-month long cruise off. :)  
**LiLbLueangeL1223: **Thank you _so _much for all the info:D I will incorporate as much of the magic of Disneyland into this fic. I can't believe you actually wrote all that to help! (shiny eyes) _Thankyouthankyouthankyou_!

A last thanks again to all the kindred souls who reviewed! You rock!

_(P.S. Am listing all the locations you want me to put in. Will try and satisfy everyone.)_

_(P.P.S. Ehehe, sorry about the long, irrelevant tiramisu crap. It's just...so...pardon the drool.)_


	4. Aurora Borealis

**Chapter Four: Aurora Borealis**

Hermione awoke groggily at nine-thirty. Then, upon realising the time, she gave a yelp and jumped out of bed. They would be leaving at ten.

When she arrived in the lobby, everyone else had already gathered and were chattering excitedly, discussing rumours about where they would be going next. Everyone was curious as they had been told to bring their swimsuits.

Parvati suddenly spotted Hermione and dragged her over to where the rest of the group – except Malfoy – was standing. Hermione smiled weakly at Dean as he tried to force her into a conversation focused on the base components of tiramisu.

Fortunately, the Land Rovers arrived just then, and they got in – Hermione once again next to Malfoy.

_Crap, I really need to stop walking behind everyone else._

They were driven over through the city to the Ishetar Riding Centre. Upon sighting the building, the whole cohort immediately broke into chatter once again.

"Horses!" Lavender squealed excitedly. "I love horseback-riding!"

At the centre, they were given riding instructions and briefed on safety procedures. Then, they were led to a large paddock where fifty or so horses stood grazing. They were pure bred Viking horses, descended from those brought over by Iceland's first settlers more than 1100 years before. They were short, but the instructors assured them that the horses were incredibly steady; even on the rocky grounds of lava they would be journeying to.

When it was Hermione's turn to mount, she felt nervous and anxious. All the other students had managed it fine; although not without some stumbling and resulting cursing. Though Hermione could not help feeling slightly amused as she saw the horse she had been given. It was brown, but with a long mane of very soft, wavy light blond hair that fell over one of it's eyes. It reminded her forcibly of Malfoy.

Hesitantly, she approached the horse and slid a foot into the stirrup, hoisting herself up onto its back. The instructor led the horse out of the fenced paddock and out into the open. They had told them that it would be fine for those with no riding experience, as the horses were very well-trained and tame.

The horse, perhaps sensing her unfamiliarity, flicked it's tail lazily and bent down to graze some more. Hermione pushed her heels tentatively into it's sides; as the instructor had taught them. It blinked, shook the hair out of it's eyes, and walked a paces forward. She dug her heels in harder. It broke out into a slow trot.

Satisfied, Hermione tugged on the reins and it stopped. They were allowed to go off once their whole group had a horse. Parvati and Lavender skilfully steered their horses towards Hermione. Dean was managing okay, but Neville was having quite some trouble. His horse simply refused to move, and resolutely stayed put despite his efforts.

Finally, Malfoy emerged from the paddock, looking completely at ease riding his animal. Hermione couldn't help admiring how he moved so easily with it; like it was as simple as walking or running. In fact, he actually looked bored.

When Parvati finally helped Neville get his horse moving – by slapping it on it's thigh - they were off. The grasslands stretched as far as they could see, fading off into barren ground at the edges. The wind stung their faces with sharp needles of cold, awakening them. All they could hear was the fast-paced thud of the horses' hooves on the endless grass. Gradually, Hermione eased into the rhythm of the horse, moving her body in time with its. The adrenaline surged through her, and she felt an unrestrained laugh break free, amidst those of her friends beside her. Glancing at Malfoy, she noticed he was looking completely at peace, his features free of the smirk that so frequently resided. His hair was longer now, she realised, hanging into his eyes and swept to the side, mirroring the style of her horse. It was being blown back slightly from the speed they were rushing at, framing and accentuating his eyes. Soft rays of gold sun fell across his face, making those startling silver eyes stand out even more. They glimmered as though dozens of encrusted diamonds were scattered beneath their surfaces. He closed them slowly, as if thinking. The long lashes fluttered momentarily, and then he opened his eyes again.

And Hermione thought she saw a shadow; a ghost of a smile pass across his lips.

When they reached the rockier lava ground, they let the horses rest before heading back. The basalt lava fascinated Hermione. Occasionally, if the lava had cooled oddly, intricate patterns would be carved onto the rocks' surfaces. She ran a finger over them absently. She felt distinctly uneasy – she had, for one slight moment, actually been _attracted _to Malfoy, back in the fields. But she couldn't be. He was her arch-enemy. All those years of hatred and prejudice ... She just couldn't.

Hermione felt so confused. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she again mounted her horse for the journey back to the riding centre.

At the centre, they ate a hurried lunch, though nearly gagging from the taste of the food.

"It tastes like airplane food!" Hermione said disgustedly as she spat out her first bite.

Dean nodded agreebly as he shoved away his plate. The rest of the group, who were purebloods, stared at them with raised eyebrows.

Then they hopped once again into the Land Rovers. Hermione stared out the window for awhile, but then heard Lavender gasp in awe. An enormous stretch of milky-white water lay in front of them; so still that it looked like ice. Large billows of steam rose at regular intervals. It was surrounded by hills of soft, grassy earth. Walkways and mini-bridges were connected from the spa and rental buildings to a large oasis in a corner of the lake. Walkways bordered the island-esque region, leading out to more smaller platforms.

Practically jumping out of the Land Rover, the group gaped at scene with their mouths hanging open.

"Ah, yes, the Blue Lagoon," said a voice behind them, chuckling. They turned around to find the crew captain, who had appeared out of nowhere. "Magnificient, isn't it? I remember my first trip to a lagoo-"

"Can we just go in now?" Malfoy interuppted irritably.

"Yes, yes, of course," said the captain briskly, eyeing Malfoy warily. "Go, go, don't bother to listen to an old fool like me..."

"Okay," they all said, and ran off without a second glance.

Blue Lagoon was even more beautiful up close. They changed into their swimsuits at godspeed. Dean was the first out. He sped along the wooden walkways and cannonballed into the water. Neville stuck his toes in first, causing Dean to roll his eyes and yank him in by the ankles. Malfoy ignored both of them and slid in smoothly. The girls came next, all with conditioned hair to prevent it from drying out from the lagoon water.

Dean, like the master of pull-you-in-by-your-ankles he wasn't, swept up suddenly from the cloak of the opaque water and hauled them in swiftly – cackling madly all the time.

To get back at him, the girls launched an full-out attack against him – namely, a water fight. When he finally surrendered, choking and spluttering, they just relaxed, submerged in the warm, calming water.

Then Hermione felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Harry! Ron!" She enveloped them in hugs. They laughed had a mini water-fight, then parodied water aerobics. Then they had the bright idea of doing Olympic dives off the wooden walkways. It was only after Ron tripped and clumsily fell headfirst into the water that they decided to take a break. Still chuckling and pretending not to notice Ron's glares, they hoisted themselves onto the wooden platform and sat there, talking.

"So, how's everyone's group?" Harry asked.

"Horrible," Ron scowled darkly.

"They're really nice," Hermione said, smiling. "Malfoy actually hasn't been that much of a prat."

Whereby Harry and Ron asked her if she was feeling alright, which evoked another one of those notorious splashy-splashy boom-boom water wars.

Lounging on a platform nearby, Malfoy watched them silently, muttering under his breath.

"What is it with Gryffindors and water-fights?"

Later, they headed back to the hotel for a short rest. They would be going out once again at six. Hermione was practically falling asleep. They had been told that they would be going to a restaurant for dinner, so Hermione wearily selected a random dress before collapsing on her bed.

She was awoken by her alarm clock at five-fifteen. Groggily, she took a fast shower and threw on the dress that she had picked. It was a simple, elegant black strapless that ended in a slit. Yawning, she slid on the silver chain that her mother had given her for her birthday. She half-heartedly curled her hair, and put on normal black pumps. Content, she headed out the door.

Draco stopped in his tracks as he sighted a slim, beautiful girl with wavy hair stepping out of her hotel room. He slapped himself mentally for not noticing her before. But ... how could he have not? If she went to Hogwarts – then the girl shifted her head and he realised it was Granger.

They were piled into Superjeeps and driven along the island's lava landscape. The stars sparkled calmingly in the pastel black-violet sky, but Draco had eyes only for the girl sitting next to him. Granger was admiring the stars with a tranquil smile and didn't notice him staring. The vehicle bumped quietly along the rocky terrain. Mountains of craggy rock rose around them like titans. Draco could sense magic in the air. But it wasn't the magic of wizards – no; it was the magic of the planet. He could hear faint whispers of the earth speaking to him through the sulphur and ash, though he was sure the Muggle driver could not. It spoke to him softly; peacefully. He felt his eyes closing, gradually; slowly...

When Draco awoke, the driver was announcing that they were in the small seaside village of Stokkseyri, where the rustic restaurant Við Fjöruborðið was located. He then realised that something was leaning against his shoulder. Looking round, he felt himself flush with shock and embarrassment. Granger, like him, had fallen asleep, and had tilted against him in her slumber.The rest of the group had noticed, too, and were smirking.

Annoyed and deeply red, he pushed her away and got up hurriedly. _Malfoys are _never_ humiliated, _he thought scathingly. He was seriously irritated by those bloody Gryffindors – and besides that, he was hungry. Those Muggles had better get that dinner quick.

They, of course, were forced to sit according to their groups. Draco made his way to a table with the plaque card 'Sapphire' placed on it, and waited, fuming for the rest to turn up. Which they did, still sniggering. At least until he shot them one of his best Malfoy glares. Hermione was still looking bleary and apparently didn't know - and didn't care - why the others were behaving even more idiotically than usual.

Then, the captain, who had appeared out of nowhere to give them handy information as usual, stood up and announced that they would be having Við Fjöruborðið's specialty – Stokkseyri lobster.

_Thank God,_ Draco thought, patting his complaining stomach.

Three steaming lobsters were placed in front of them – apparently, they had to share. Draco scowled. Even worse, the others had carefully arranged themselves so that Hermione was sitting next to Draco, as usual. Picking up his knife and fork, Draco transferred some of the lobster onto his plate and began to eat, completely ignoring the girl next to him. Hermione followed his lead sleepily.

The lobster was one of the most delicious things Draco had tasted, and that was saying alot, considering how he only ate food and drank water mail-ordered fresh from the mountain-tops. It was cooked in butter and garlic, accompanied by a specially made sauce and bread.

When he was full, Draco closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair. They left the restaurant soon after and just sat in the Superjeeps. When five minutes had passed and the jeep was still catatonic, Draco yelled to the driver irritably.

"What's going on? Why aren't we leaving?" he shouted, eyes still closed.

"You'll see," the driver answered in an accented voice.

Then, suddenly, a pale green light began to streak across the sky. Curious muttering surfaced as a few of the students noticed it. Then, the green was joined and merged with red; then yellow, then white. It streaked and shot across the sky, flashing and dancing in a motley wave of colour. Everyone was fully awake now, clambering out of the jeeps and pointing, shrieking excitedly. Draco watched the light arch and ripple, and inexplicaby, felt tears surface. The whispering of the planet was clearly to be heard now. Fully immersed in the depths of nature, he felt emotions he hadn't felt for years rush to the surface, threatening to spill. It reminded him of his carefree childhood, and of the burdenless nights he used to spend watching the night stars twinkle from his window; small, awed face pressed against the glass. He remembered running around the grounds of the mansion after thunderstorms trying to dig up earthworms. And ... floating paper boats along the drains on rainy days, watching in fascination how they ducked and swerved with the current.

The light had faded to a pure silver; a white dragon against the dark night sky, spanning and fading to avoid the harsher and bitter times of life...

It was then he felt tears release and slide down his cheeks, leaving a cloudy mark against the dark ground.

On the quiet ride back to the hotel, Draco saw that everyone else had fallen asleep. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, shifting to a more comfortable position.

Just then, Hermione's head drooped once again onto his shoulder. Draco stiffened, but then decided he didn't really mind.

As he let himself drift off to the coaxes of the earth, the stars in the sky watched him as he had watched them.

* * *

Sorry it took a week, but I've been busy writing other stuff for another competition my teacher is forcing me to enter. Bleh. I stayed up all night to write this, and I'm dead tired. Need to get some sleep because I have to go shopping in the afternoon to get stuff for the Graduation Ball. Hee. Review please:) It makes me update reeeeaaaal fast.

**A/N:**

_lra-dragonfruit: _I'm sure you didn't mean to be rude, but the way you phrased it didn't feel very nice. But thanks for taking the time for reviewing my fic.I'm sorry if you feel ... er ... slanderized? (That's not even a word, is it:P)

_Blazeing Star: _Oh of course not! I thought you were amazingly polite! Sure they can go to Canada, since you and _Zarroc _keep requesting:) Actually, I made it take place somewhere in late September to early October. Because in summer you don't get the Northern Lights. Hehe. I like winter best too. :P

Yeah, I'm noting all the countries you all want. I'm still concentrating on Iceland though. They have one more day. At the rate I'm going, it'll take me three years to finish this. :(

This chapter was meant to give more depth to Draco. Because I like him. Bwahahahaha. Iceland is so beautiful, I can't even describe it. Google Blue Lagoon and the Northern Lights and you'll know what I mean.

And thanks to all those who reviewed! I give you bread! Or cookies. Whichever. :)

P.S. The phrase '_mail-ordered fresh from the mountain-tops_' was taken from Mythical Detective Loki. Just so you know. :P


	5. Go Fish and Hot Pink

**Chapter Five: Go Fish and Hot Pink**

Hermione ran a brush through her mane of tangled hair, watching as the matted ends metamorphosed into graceful curls. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, she sighed heavily. It was their last day in Iceland. They were going down to the coast off Reykjavik in search of marine animals, and then rafting down the Hvítá River. She would miss this haven of untouched beauty. Her trunk stood by the door, packed and ready. Suddenly the luxurious, modernized cruise liner didn't seem so tempting. She wished she could stay here forever, behind that waterfall, watching the gentle spray of the water as it dove into the crystalline pool beneath.

And remain with that beautiful human, with eyes of stormy grey.

Awhile later, she was in her usual seat in the Land Rover, still groggy and bleary-eyed. After a short drive, they arrived at the harbour and boarded a ship to take them out to sea. Hermione huddled into her sweater, feeling the cold seep into her skin. She regretted not having brought along another jacket, as the temperatures were much lower near the coast. Casting her eyes around the deck, she bit her lip as she noted the absence of Harry or Ron. She expected that they were below, in the cabin. Hermione knew that it would be warmer there, but somehow, she just felt too exhausted and drained to move.

Shivering slightly, she leaned against the railing of the deck and watched the churning waves beneath her froth and curl.

Draco, perfectly warm in his black fur coat, noticed Hermione fighting the chill with her meagre protection. He hesitated. One part of him saw an innocent teenage girl who happened to have a really sweet smile struggling to keep warm. The other side snarled and screamed that she was a Mudblood; unworthy filth that didn't deserve sympathy. The side that had been pressed upon and emphasised by his father, who was currently locked in the equivalent of hell, having the life and happiness sucked out of him.

The thought of Lucius's grim fate made Draco affirm his decision. Trying to push away the traces of doubt that lingered, he veiled his emotions with his usual cold demeanour. He approached Hermione slowly, still feeling a touch of reluctance.

"Are you cold?"

Hermione looked up at the sound of a male voice, expecting Neville or Dean. Instead, Malfoy stood in front of her, regarding her with those steely, guarded eyes. She opened her mouth in surprise, mouthing soundlessly.

"I ..." Then she managed to regain her voice. "...Why would you care?" Hermione lowered her gaze to her shoes, well aware of the thick fog of awkwardness that engulfed her. Malfoy didn't seem at all perturbed. Silently, he slid off his fur coat and put it around her deftly. Then, he glanced around warily, as if to check if someone had seen his act of compassion.

"I didn't give that coat to you," he said levelly. "You saw nothing."

Hermione nodded dumbly, mouth open slightly. Malfoy headed quickly down the steps to the warmer cabin, wearing only a mere sweater. The last thing she saw before he disappeared was a silver dragon on the back of his black shirt, rearing and coiled, poised to strike.

When Hermione eventually recovered from the shock of Malfoy being_ nice_ to her, she remembered that he only had a single shirt on and was probably feeling cold. She forced her heavy feet down the steps and into the cabin. Malfoy had fallen asleep in the corner of the room, head drooping on the plastic seat. Hermione crossed over quietly and dropped the coat on the seat next to him as surreptitiously as possible, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention as to why she was returning one of Malfoy's possessions.

Hermione looked round the cabin again, and spotted Ron and Harry deeply immersed in a game of Go Fish. She approached them and happened to overhear their conversation.

"No, no, Ron, you're supposed to _give _me the nine if you've got it ..."

"But I don't!" said a bewildered-looking Ron.

"Then tell me to 'Go Fish'!" Harry explained exasperatedly.

"Er ... Go Fish?"

Hermione suppressed a snicker. "Hi," she said, sitting down on the seat opposite them. Harry and Ron looked up from their cards and began firing their usual questions at once.

"Has Malfoy been okay?"

"Dean admitted he's gay yet?"

"Is Neville holding up all right?"

"...Say, do _you_ know how to play this overly complicated Muggle game?"

Hermione paused. "Yes, no, yes, yes ... is Dean really gay?"

In the middle of a short, healthy, humourous chat about Dean's antics, orientation and manic obsession with an Italian dessert, an announcement came suddenly over the loudspeaker in the cabin.

"We have reached the whale-watching point. Please proceed to the deck for maximum viewing accessibility. Thank you."

The group made their way out of the cabin and onto the deck, joining the crowd leaning over the railings curiously. Hermione watched the breaking waves, lapsing into silence.

A disturbance in the near water caught her eye. Ripples formed on the surface of the enchanting blue water, growing larger and more forceful as time passed. Then, suddenly, a large, sleek figure propelled out of the sea, curving in a graceful arc before splashing back into the ocean's depths. The beauty of the dolphin's curved, flexing body left Hermione breathless. Soon, the dolphin was joined by others, sliding their white noses curiously out of the water, so close that Hermione could nearly reach out and touch them. Awhile after, whales began to join the fray, rocking the small boat with the impact of their dives. Hermione watched, bright-eyed and laughing, feeling completely exhilarated.

And the grey-eyed boy who watched her almost – almost let himself smile.

After about an hour of whale-watching, they headed back to land and piled into the Land Rovers once again, travelling through the farmlands toward Drumboddsstaðir farm where the rafting base camp was located. During the ride there, Hermione bit her lip, thoughts whirling. Draco was wearing his jacket again, and she found it odd that he wasn't jumping up and down on one foot, screaming of filthy Mudbloods and holding the coat at an arm's length. Instead, he just sat there, looking as though he would be perfectly composed even in the middle of the apocalypse.

Hermione wanted to thank him for letting her borrow his only jacket ... but she didn't know how. Possible scenarios flitted through her mind.

_"Thank you, Malfoy."_

_"Thank you?"_

_"Yes ... for your jacket."  
"Oh, I just wanted to see how you would react if I was nice to you. You mean you actually thought I was sincere? Ahahaha..."_

Definitely not encouraging. Nevertheless, Hermione gathered up her courage and turned towards him.

"...Thank you ... Malfoy."

Draco glanced at her.

"For – for your jacket..." Hermione bit her lip again and looked away. Maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut...

Draco remained silent for a moment, but just as Hermione was about to give up and die of embarrassment, he spoke. Well, grunted, then spoke.

"It ... it was nothing. Just ... don't get used to it."

Hermione was slightly apprehensive, but she gave him the smallest of smiles. "Well, thank you, anyway," she said softly.

Awhile later, they reached the rafting base camp, and everyone was suited up in buoyancy suits and rubber boots. Hermione suppressed a snort. Everyone looked about thirty pounds overweight in the unflattering jackets. After the guide went through the instructions and safety procedures, Hermione got into an inflatable boat with the rest of Sapphire, ending up in front of Malfoy, who was at the end of the boat.

The Hvítá River was amazing. A twisting, narrow stretch of churning aquamarine water lay in front of them, bordered by craggy rocks on both sides of them. Parvati squealed excitedly as they pushed off shore. The water began to get rougher. The forceful current carried the boat further downstream. Then, they hit the white water. Waves battered against and rocked the boat, causing its occupants to either squeal, laugh, screech, yell or – in Dean's case – shout 'Holy Tiramisu!'.

Neville looked terrified. Hermione, glancing at his face, put a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Loosen up! Have fun, Neville!"  
He looked a bit less tense, and started to nod. But then, the boat bounced off a rock and nearly unseated everyone. It was then they realised the godly importance and power of the oars.

Hermione let loose a carefree laugh as the cool water flecked her cheeks, warm from the adrenaline. She had never felt so happy or alive in Hogwarts. But then again, all she mostly did was study. Boy, had she missed out on a lot...

The water frothed and roared around them. Hermione could feel the river rushing forth beneath the boat. They were jerked, maneuvred and twisted by the violent current, but Hermione could not think of anything more invigorating.

Just then, Lavender let out a shriek and pointed ahead. The water further ahead dropped and arched downwards in a curve, due to the formation of the river bottom. Hermione sensed Draco smirk behind her – though how, she didn't know.

The water carried them rapidly towards the dip. In the berth of a second, they felt nothing but air below the boat, threw up their arms instinctively, screamed, 'Holy Tiramisued', and fell steadily back on the surface of level water once again.

The impact of the fall caused Hermione to fall backwards into Draco. He stiffened, but stayed silent. Already startled, Hermione felt even more shocked as Draco's hands gripped her shoulders and pushed her upright, lingering just a second longer than necessary.

Violently red, Hermione muttered an embarrassed apology, and eventually the awkwardness disappeared; overruled by the untainted joy of the churning rapids.

A few hours later, they were back on shore, drying off and changing into fresh clothing. Hermione felt sadness prick at her as the Land Rovers arrived to drive them back to The Hogwarter. Their trunks would already be on the ship by now. Turning around for a last look at the river that had coaxed so much joy, Hermione saw the faintest echo of a rainbow draped across the blurry, darkened sky.

Back in the ship, Hermione stretched across the couch, reminiscing, laughing quietly to herself at intervals. They had left Iceland behind them a few hours ago. Dean was on the floor, in front of the television, grumbling.

"Ninety-six channels and nothing's on!"

Neville was deeply immersed in _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_. Draco in the bathroom, showering after a 'short late-night swim in the decks'. Parvati and Lavender were sunk in beanbags, chatting happily.

"That was the most fun I've ever had in my life," Lavender said, sighing contentedly. "I wonder where we're going next?"  
Hermione opened her ever-ready pamphlet. "It says..."

But suddenly, they heard a horrified scream. The bathroom door burst open a few seconds later, and a furious Draco stormed into the rec room, nightrobe thrown on haphazardly, hair still damp. Everyone gaped. He glared at them, then looked straight at Hermione.

"Granger! Help me fix this ... or – or ... I'll beat up Weasley!"

After their initial moment of shock, everyone recovered and collapsed in wracking gasps of laughter, occasionally attempting to breathe.

Draco's hair was bright pink.

When Hermione managed to subdue her incessant snorts, she got out her wand to turn Draco's hair back to its usual blond. But then she remembered what the captain had said about magic.

"Sorry, sweetie-pie," Hermione said sweetly, putting her wand away. "Not allowed to use magic, remember?"

Draco let out an angry bellow. They ended up using some of Lavender's home hair dye on Draco. But the colour was still a shade and a half away from his original platinum yellow. It was now slightly blonder; deeper. Draco complained about it endlessly - until they shut him up by stuffing a spoonful of Dean's first-grade tiramisu ice cream in his mouth.

"How did your hair get like that, anyway?" Hermione asked interestedly after Draco had swallowed and the bout of smirks had died down.

"_Apparently_, Parkinson was so fascinated by the notion of me as a brunette that she put Muggle hair dye in my shampoo. Of course, the idiot didn't realise that the chemicals might react negatively to each other." Draco grounded his teeth loudly. "_Hence _the hot pink."

After another round of smirking, everyone retired to their rooms. Hermione huddled into her blankets, watching the deep waves of the sea out of her window. As she shut her eyes, she thought smirkingly that hot pink suited Draco perfectly fine.

* * *

**A / N : **Finally! I'm done with Iceland, still thinking about where they'll go next. I'm sorry it took so long, I wanted to get this over with but kept redoing stuff, for some reason. The pink hair was something random, like tiramisu. I'm sorry, I can't help it. :)

Well, we're no longer allowed to give review responses, so if you have any questions I'll respond to them with a PM.

Okay, I just wanna let you know that I've been rethinking stuff, and if I do every country like this in detail, it'll take a couple of years and a truckload of aspirin to finish this. So, along the way, I _might _just shorten the cruise by a couple months or something, and I maybe won't be going too in depth for some places. So sorry!

Oh, and review please! It makes me smile like crazy and think of Draco singing _Oops I Did It Again. _For some weird reason. Ah well.


	6. Oh, Insanity

**Chapter Six: Oh, Insanity**

When the commotion about Draco's hair had died down, Parvati glanced at Hermione.

"So, where _are _we going next? You never really said."

Hermione smiled joyfully. "Canada."

Canada was beautiful. Snow whipped around them, falling and spraying in a light shower. The huskies in front of them panted, tongues lolling in what Hermione thought was the most adorable way. She was sitting in a sled with Dean and Malfoy, for Neville had turned pale at the suggestion of him riding with the Slytherin; who had helpfully given him one of his best smirks at that point, and hence paired up with Parvati and Lavender.

They rode, enchanted, in the flurry of white snow for awhile, then headed back to a cosy, homely mountaintop cafe for hot chocolate.

Their group, Sapphire, had sat down together at a table, beneath the eye of the preppy ship captain. _"Sit with your group!" _he had exclaimed eagerly, gesturing cheerily. Then he had brought them all their drinks, smiling widely, and honestly freaking everyone out till they sipped obediently and mimicked Barney and Elmo's clever talking styles and happy, happy grins.

When the captain finally went away to preppify some others, Parvati and Lavender immediately abandoned their hot chocolate with hysterical cries of ' -Insert screech here- Oh god, the calories!' and went to the bathroom the freshen up. Dean had dragged Neville along to inquire if they served tiramisu, after Hermione's point-blank refusal to accompany him.

That left Draco and Hermione alone, in a quiet corner of the sweet, warm cafe. Hermione drank silently, watching Draco stare at his hot chocolate over the rim of her cup.

"It's not poison, you know," she said when he continued to stare, raising an eyebrow.

Draco remained mute, sighing and closing his eyes, leaning back in his chair. Hermione 'tched' and turned her attention back to her mug, but realised it was almost empty, excepting some horribly thick residue at the bottom. She set the mug down.

After a few moments, Draco apparently decided he was tired of sitting and immersing himself in himself, for he made to stand up. But one of his legs accidentally knocked against the rickety table, causing Hermione's mug to overturn onto her resting hand.

Hermione let out a disgusted groan, turning to give Draco a fleeting scowl. She reached for a napkin to clean up, but a hand stretched out and took hold of it first. The next thing she registered was the feel of Draco's long, cool fingers wrapped around her wrist, his other hand wiping off the traces of hot chocolate from her palm and forearm.

Hermione tried to suppress the greater of her shock, mouth open slightly in disbelief. Draco had a faintly annoyed look on his face, as if _she _had been the one who had split the blasted drink over herself. He finished up silently, tossing the used napkin back on the table. Then he looked up into Hermione's stunned face, and seemed to grasp the unreality of the situation. He dropped her hand as though burned, avoiding her eyes, and walked away quickly.

Hermione could do nothing but stare. She ran a finger cautiously over the area of skin that he had touched, and felt a fire that had nothing to do with the cold flash through her veins.

On the way back to the ship – they had just dropped by Canada for a day – the captain allowed them to stop at a secretive wizarding gift shop, invisible to Muggles. The place smelled like Honeydukes, and carried a range of Canadian-made sweets, amongst other unnecessary trinkets and things that tourists never seemed to be able to resist buying. Hermione perused through the shelves, pausing to laugh at some odd unbreakable cymbal monkeys that emitted sparks at three-second intervals. Then, something caught her eye.

"Mood rings," Hermione read aloud from the box. She knew what they were. They had been invented by a Muggle in the 1970's, but had eventually blown over to the wizarding world. Hermione skimmed through the rest of the text printed on the box.

_'Let your special someone know exactly what you're feeling with these wizarding mood rings! Really work! (Unlike those stupid Muggle ones that can be thwarted by the weather and stress-related vasoconstriction!)'_

Below that was a list of the colours and their connotations. Hermione gave a faint smile. She picked up one of the rings and examined it. It was set in silver, adorned with a pattern of beavers and maple leaves upon its surface – symbolic of Canada. It was now currently black, waiting quietly for a user. She slipped it on. Almost immediately, the its dark skin brightened to a deep green. She consulted the colour list. It represented calmness.

Hermione smiled. She _was_ feeling calm. Slipping the ring off her finger, she paid for it at the cash register. The sales clerk encased it in a small, handsome black velvet box, and gave her a list of the colour codes along with it. Hermione took the ring out again and looked at it fondly again, putting it around the middle finger of her left hand. It was now a light purple. She checked.

Happiness.

Back on the ship, Dean suggested going swimming again. Everyone except Draco – who said nothing – agreed. Dean apparently wouldn't settle for that.

"Malfoy! Why don't you come?" he said.

Draco looked at him in disbelief. "Shouldn't you know?" Dean simply stared blankly. Draco sighed and jabbed his finger into his chest. "Slytherin," he said slowly. Then he pointed at Dean. "Gryffindor." And then he went through everyone else in the room. "Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor. I rest my case."

Dean tugged on Draco's forearm. "Come on! You haven't been as big as an asshole as you usually are!"

Parvati rolled her eyes. "You have such a way with words, Dean. He'll _really _want to come now." She moved forward and grabbed hold of Dean's arm. "Let him do what he wants!" She stole a glance at Draco's haughty, annoyed features, and for some odd reason, was unable to stifle a giggle.

Draco tipped his head up to face the ceiling, groaning frustratedly. He put a hand on Parvati's shoulder, a travesty of genteel politeness. "Would you mind not giggling so often?" He had an extremely forced smile on, looking very strained. Of course, that only caused Parvati to giggle even more.

Hermione looked at them, Dean gripping Draco's arm, Parvati yanking Dean's, Draco's hand on Parvati's shoulder. To Hermione, Neville and Lavender watching, they looked like an impromptu ring-around-the-rosy.

Suddenly, Hermione felt someone tug at her sleeve. It was Lavender.

"Malfoy looks so cute when he's angry, don't you think?" she whispered, breaking out into giggles.

Hermione was taken aback. She had never thought of Draco that way before. Haltingly, she studied his face. His steely grey eyes, his windswept blond hair falling into them, his pale, accentuating skin ... So ... so ... beautiful.

Then, of course, Hermione slapped herself mentally for the forbidden notion. _No, no, no! _she thought fiercely. That settled, she opened her mouth to tell Lavender exactly what her perception of Draco was – _stupid, evil, pureblooded little cockroachy ferret. _But she found herself answering in an entirely different tone.

"...Cute?" she said hesitantly. "I ... I really don't know."

They ended up going without Draco. Lavender and Parvati were slightly disappointed; apparently, they were 'enamoured' with him, and enjoyed the prospect of seeing him shirtless. Neville, however, was thoroughly content without the Slytherin, and was currently displaying his joy by doing cannonballs into the pool. Repeatedly. Hermione shook her head amusedly and laughed as she watched Dean pretend to drown.

"My heart must go on!" he gasped, clutching his chest frantically, gulping for air. The others, who were pureblooded and didn't get the reference, simply shrugged at each other.

For the rest of the night, they had water fights and played Marco Polo until they were ready to drop unconscious. After heading back to the suite to find Draco asleep in his bed, everyone showered and settled in the rec room, chattering happily over tiramisu ice cream. Of course, they started playing the traditional game everyone plays when they're feeling all gigglish and magicky.

"Truth or Dare!" Parvati squealed excitedly.

"How do you know about that?" Hermione asked confusedly. "Isn't it a Muggle game?"

"Oh, please, Hermione, _everyone _knows about this fantabulous game!" Lavender answered, giggling.

"I want to go first!" Neville yelled uncharacteristically, so that everyone stared at him. He flushed. "Sorry."  
"Whatever, Neville, just ask!" Lavender said, bouncing hyperactively on the couch.

"Er, okay ..." Neville surveyed the room. "Um ... Dean! Truth or dare?"  
Dean had a manic, reckless gleam in his eyes. "Dare."

Neville, coincidentally, also had a manic, reckless gleam in his eyes. "I dare you ... to toss out all of your tiramisu ice cream!"

Dean froze. "No," he whispered.

"_Yes_!" Neville said, grinning madly. You could practically hear the '_bwahahaha_'s.

Dean looked like he was going to cry. Tearily, he snatched everyone's ice cream out of their hands – causing many glowers at Neville – and then walked over to fridge, emptying it of the rest of his stock of ice cream. Then he headed to the rubbish bin, where he stood in silence for several long moments.

"Dean's backing out, Dean's backing out!" sang Parvati, giggling.

Dean seemed to stiffen.

"No. I'm. Not."

And then, with a majestic sweep, the ice cream fell dramatically into the bin, spilling their contents into the black abyss of Trash Bag. Dean dropped tragically to his knees, facing the ceiling, hands held aloft.

"Noooooooo!"

When Dean had regained his composure, he sat down again, eyes faintly red.

"Oh, you gonna pay, brother," he said to Neville in a high, insane voice. Narrowing his eyes, he leaned forward, causing Neville to gulp and scuttle backwards. "_Truth _or _Dare_?"

Not willing to risk it, Neville swallowed and chose the safer option. "-Truth."

Dean scoffed and muttered under his breath, but still loud enough so that China could hear, "Wuss."

Neville flared indignantly. "Fine then. _Dare_."

Dean smiled evilly. It was really quite frightening, actually, and Hermione, Lavender and Parvati found themselves shuffling away in alarm.

"I dare you to kiss Malfoy."

Neville looked stunned, Lavender and Parvati gasped, and Dean emitted an aura of evil.

Pale, Neville stood up shakily, and walked into the boys' bedroom. For a few moments, there was silence. And then -

" - What the bloody – _aahhhhhhh_!" Draco's yells were soon joined by Neville's, and Neville ran out of the room - spitting violently - soon after. Then, Draco appeared in the doorway, hair and clothes disheveled from his sleep, looking furious, disgusted, stunned and fearful all at the same time.

"He _kissed _me!" Draco fairly screamed, jabbing a hysterical finger at Neville.

"On the lips?" Dean enquired placidly.

"No, the cheek, you goon!"

"Then you're overreacting," Dean replied. "I, however, will not be overreacting when I hex Neville into oblivion for cheating on a dare."

"I didn't cheat!" Neville protested, still spitting. "You didn't specify where I was supposed to kiss him!"

"Yeah, Dean, you didn't, really," Parvati said.

"Fine!" Dean scowled and folded his arms grouchily, turning his back on them. "Be that way."

Meanwhile, Draco was swelling in anger in the background. "You're using me as a _dare?_" he yelled, then letting loose a stream of curses, but nobody was really paying attention to him. After a few moments of them ignoring him, he gave up and stormed back into the room, still swearing.

After awhile, they got Dean back into his joking mode by promising him more tiramisu ice cream, and played Truth or Dare until they got to that agonising point where nobody could think of anything good. Parvati was forced into parodying Richard Simmons – the gay aerobics dancer – and Lavender was made to sing a song entitled, 'You Are My Chilli Dog', the chorus of which went, '_Covered in relish and sour cream, I consume your essence, oh my chilli dog, oh my chilli dog, flourish, flourish, flourish_'. They all affectionately went easy on Hermione though, and her toughst dare was to stay away from the ship's library for six hours, seventeen minutes and forty-three seconds.

At twelve, they bid each other goodnight and retired to their rooms. Half-asleep, Hermione overheard Lavender and Parvati gossiping in the next beds over.

"Oh, didn't Malfoy look simply _gorgeous _just now?" Parvati exclaimed, giggling.

"I know! With his hair all mussy and his eyes so clear and so _grey_!" Lavender sighed dreamily. "Too bad he's Slytherin, though..."

"Hermione," said Parvati. "What do_ you _think of him?"

"I've already told Lavender," Hermione said sleepily. "I just ... don't know."

And in the light of the silver moon, Hermione saw the mood ring on her finger. It had morphed to a whirling, light green, of turbulent, churning, undecided emotions.

* * *

**A/N: **Oh, the randomness. I'm sure that wasn't what Queen of Duct Tape meant when she said the thing about the hot chocolate, but nyeh. :) I quoted some stuff from the show _Whose Line Is It Anyway? _Hilarious sitcom, I might add. Crap, I should have written everything down. T.T It's the awesomest, really. I remember the first time I saw it ... reruns on an airplane. Ah.

I'll be away in Malaysia for the next three days, by the way. And if I find a nice, big, squishy inbox full of reviews when I get back, I might just put in some Star Wars quotes. (_Muahahaha!_) Actually, I'll do it anyway, because I can't resist.

Well, cheerio! -waves lightsaber- (The red kind. Join the dark side! Because we have cookies. I scoff at the light side. _They _only have lemon drops. Pfft.)


	7. Aloha, Yo!

**Chapter Seven: Aloha, Yo!**

The next morning Hermione awoke uncommonly early, and went down to breakfast alone. It was still dark out. The air was cool and balmy, scented by the calm, rolling waves. She went down to the Crescent Moon, where a few yawning waiters stood around, blinking blearily. The only others awake at this time were a couple of Hufflepuffs Hermione knew only in passing, bent over the Daily Prophet, presumably reading the comics.

"Which one do you like?"

"Whichever."

A pause.

"...I don't get Wiznuts."

"I never get Wiznuts."

Hermione sat down in a corner and placed a simple order of milk tea and egg on toast. When she had finished eating, she went out onto the deck, leaning against the railing as she watched the waves, so far beneath her. In the distant horizon, the sun was beginning to rise, lightening the black sky. Shafts and streaks of patterned rose and gold split and bloomed, merging into a brilliant, blurry painting. Hermione let a soft smile slip past her lips and murmured a quiet, hushed whisper.

"Beautiful..."

Draco opened his eyes groggily and glanced out the window. The sun was just beginning to rise. He lay in bed for a few moments before giving up – he couldn't get back to sleep. He got out of bed and slid a cloak over his nightclothes. The bedroom was feeling uncomfortably stuffy and noisy with Neville's snores. Draco grimaced grumpily and headed up to the deck for air. Once he got there, he couldn't help noticing a not-so-unfamiliar brown head. Retreating back into the shadows of the landing, he watched as the girl gazed off into the blooming, endless skies. Her loosely-wrapped shawl fanned out behind her, a rippling wave of dove silk. Then, surrendering to the persuasive caresses of the wind, it flew off her shoulders and landed a few feet away from where Draco was standing. He glanced at the girl. She didn't appear to have noticed. After a few moments, Draco reluctantly stepped out of the cloak of the landing, and picked up the fallen cloth. Then he simply stood there, debating furiously with himself. The Slytherin inside him reared, and he was just about to abandon all chivalry, drop the shawl and run away when the girl turned around.

"...Malfoy?" she said slowly. "What are you doing? ...Is that mine?"

Draco cursed mentally as the girl walked towards him hesitantly. He held out the shawl and she took it after an undecided pause. He briefly glimpsed a silver ring, flashing on her finger.

"... Thank you," the girl said, averting her eyes.

Draco looked away. After awhile in uncomfortable silence, the girl, biting her lip, muttered something about 'getting some more sleep' and hurried off towards the stairs.

Draco walked towards the railing and leaned against it, his throat constricted. His blood was rushing just a little too fast to be considered normal. It was probably just some very belated adrenaline from the reality of the trip or something.

It had to be.

Hermione walked back into the suite flushed in embarrassment. Draco probably now thought her a flustered, blundering idiot.

Not that she cared, of course. Falling onto her bed, she closed her eyes and tried to get to sleep, but her attempts were in vain. Her mind was whirling with thoughts; thoughts of Draco, thoughts of hot pink hair, thoughts of tiramisu – stupid Dean ...

Sighing, she turned on her side and saw the cruise pamphlet lying on her bedside table. She picked it up and flipped through it.

"...Hawaii?"

Later that morning, the group – excepting Draco, who was nowhere to be found – lounged around in the rec room, with Dean yawning very loudly and very pointedly.

"Neville, can't you do anything about your snoring?" he complained grumpily. When Neville turned beet red and remained silent, he mock-glared and turned to Hermione.

"So, where are we going next, O Pamphlet Master and the delight of my eyes?"

"Hawaii," Hermione answered, half-asleep on the couch. Waking up before daylight had even struck had not taken kindly to her.

Parvati and Lavender entered squeal mode. Dean flashed a cheery grin. "And after that?"

Hermione shrugged, eyes closed. "I don't know. I haven't read that far ahead yet."

Dean looked unconvinced. "But you're reading it practically 24/7! Why do you only observe the tidings of our immediate future, and not plough on to discern the tangled trappings of the distant foretellings, being the studious scholar that takes refuge in informative scrolls of wisdom that you are?"

Hermione opened her eyes slowly. "I ... don't know."

Dean, enthused, continued his pointing-out. "And why is it we're always lying about in this room, instead of exploring the wondrous activities and entertainment this ship has to offer? And why is it I obsess about tiramisu? And why do Parvati and Lavender seem so braindead and stereotypical? And why - "

But, suddenly, a glazed look entered his eyes and he cut off abruptly, slack-jawed and blank. The others, fortunately, did not notice, though admittedly they wore the same sort of expressions themselves. Then, a breeze passed through the room – though how or why, it was never confirmed; the suite contained no windows – and a whisper so soft; so breathy it might have been imagined, echoed ...

_"Because I say so."_

Then everyone awoke from their trance and blinked. "What was I talking about again?" Dean asked slowly, scratching his head.

"I think ... something about tiramisu?" Neville said doubtfully.

"...Oh yeah."

A few days of lounging later, the ship stopped at Kauai, Hawaii, at Nawiliwili Bay. They alighted, dragging their heavy trunks with them. They were on the magnificent Kalapaki beach, of gentle aqua water and beige sand. Everyone stood around admiring the beautiful, untouched scenery. A modern-looking hotel was situated right behind the beach, along with a gorgeous pool, in roughly the shape of a flower with an islet in the center, surrounded with tall, leafy coconut trees.

But then the bombshell came.

"_Camping_?"

Everyone gaped in disbelief at the crew captain, who had an infuriatingly cheerful smile plastered on his face.

"Yes! Isn't this _exciting_? Of course, staying in comfy, air-conditioned hotels all the time would get pretty boring, don't you think?"

The whole cohort stood grumbling, excepting a few outdoorsy environmentalists, who were clapping their hands and jumping up and down in glee.

The captain beamed at them. "So, each group will have two three-person tents to themselves, along with a sack of necessary supplies and cooking appliances." He gestured around them, where tents had already been set up at marked distances. "You will have to survive these three days on your own, with what we have provided you. If you can't ... well ..."

But then, a local Hawaiian man showed up and waved to the captain. They began conversing rapidly in a language that was certainly not English.

Draco, who had been silent for awhile, scowled irritably. Parvati tilted her head to the side. "What are they saying?"

Dean glanced at the local briefly. The man was talking earnestly, with much gesturing of his hands. Then, Dean started to translate.

"We have cable television! Should I show you to your luxurious five-star room?"

The crew captain smiled and spoke. Dean paused.

"Oh, yes, thank you! By the way, do you get Baywatch here?"

The local man nodded enthusiastically.

"Did you watch last week's episode?" Dean translated for the local, suppressing a smirk.

The captain laughed and answered. At his speech, Dean started sniggering. Parvati looked at him with a question mark floating above her head. Dean repeated what the captain had said.

"Oh, you mean the one where they walked in slow motion? I loved that!"

Parvati was staring avidly at Dean. "I didn't know you spoke their language! Are they _really_ saying that?" she asked interestedly.

Dean glanced at her. "Nah. I'm just messing with ya." Then, he strode away to claim a tent, chipperly ignoring Parvati's irritable glare.

After awhile, Hermione and Dean had everything set up, and Dean began showing Lavender how to use the stove, the latter whom was examining her nail polish and nodding absently, periodically inserting an 'mmm-hmm' or two. Then the captain showed up and hailed them over.

"You're going golfing now! Come on, don't dally, I'll show you to your carts. I'm assuming at least one of you knows how to play golf?"

Hermione and Dean nodded dumbly. They followed the captain to the Kauai Lagoon Golf Club, an expansive stretch of greenery surrounded by the sea, the waves crashing against the rocks. Once there, the captain gave them a happy wave and left. Dean jumped into a golf cart and yelled, "Mine!"

Draco picked up a golf club and stared at it. Parvati and Lavender imitated him. Hermione, seeing this, sighed and got everyone's equipment. They claimed two golf carts, three people to one.

At the first hole, Hermione tried to explain the general rules and gameplay of golf. Dean, too, knew how to play, but he was too busy driving around in the golf cart and shouting, 'Wee!' to teach the rest.

Parvati gave a doubtful, one-handed swing of her golf club and whacked Lavender in the nose. Draco, after an unsuccessful attempt to hit the ball, threw his club down to the grass and stalked off, muttering 'Stupid Muggle game' darkly under his breath.

For the entire duration of the trip, Hermione ended up the only one playing, as Parvati and Lavender, like Dean, found the golf carts more interesting than the actual game, and Draco disappeared into the cafe and wasn't seen for the rest of the afternoon.

When the sun set, they headed back to their tent and tried to fall asleep, huddling into their sleeping bags. Hermione could hear Draco complaining grouchily over in the boys tent, and smiled amusedly to herself.

"What a wimp," she whispered, laughing softly. Then, that disagreeable little voice in her head spoke up.

_Yeah, a gorgeous wimp._

The next morning, the captain ducked his head into their tents at the crack of dawn, cheerily announcing that they were the lucky first group that was scheduled to go fishing out at sea. A fair-sized motorboat was waiting for them, along with a cranky looking crew member operating it.

Everyone got up grumpily, glaring and scowling at the preppy captain. But once the boat started, with a deep-throated roar of the engine, Hermione felt more alert; the spray of the cool seawater flecking her face, the wind blowing back her hair.

When they were had reached water deep enough, the crew member let the boat splutter to a stop. Then he brusquely handed them all fishing poles. Draco, Parvati and Lavender stared at them as if they were golf clubs. Hermione had not fished before either. Dean, however, had already expertly cast his line and was currently cheerfully humming 'Jingle Bell Rock'. The crew member sighed and wearily instructed them. Draco caught on quickly, and by the end of the trip had caught more fish than any of them, even Dean.

Everyone was mostly satisfied with their fishing skill until the crew member announced, "So, anyway, you all know you're gonna be eating whatever you caught for lunch, right?"

Draco was tempted to hurl the bucket of fish in his face. _First camping, and now this? _He turned away from the group disgustedly. _They're probably trying to scrimp, the bloody bastards ... or just trying to kill us with poisoned seafood. Freaks._

When they got back to camp, Hermione, the only halfway competent one in the group, steamed them a meagre lunch of fish. It was better than Draco had expected it to be, though admittedly his expectations had been of blood, sushi and vomit. When she had finished eating, Hermione set off across the beach, walking along the shoreline in the shallow water with her sandals dangling from her fingertips. She watched as another group set off for the deep waters on their fishing trip.

Having seen no sign of either Harry or Ron, she headed back to camp. Dean, Parvati and Lavender had all gone back to sleep, and only Draco remained outside, sitting by the edge of the sea.

And something about the way he looked today ... something about the way she couldn't take her eyes off him ... There was something about the way his lips invited, something about the way she got nervous when he was around ...

No. Hermione shook her head. No. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no -

_Don't hurt yourself, _said the little voice in her head.

_I'll hurt you if you don't shut up. _

It didn't answer.

* * *

**A / N (Important): **Okay, so people've been asking me questions, so I have a list of answers and explanations, so everyone won't ask the same questions over and over again.

**Iceland warm! Greenland cold! Ya n00b!**

Sigh. Okay, people love correcting me on this. It gets tiring after about the second time people tell me to look it up ... So, anyway, Iceland is a seasonal country, not a forever cold or tropical one. That's all, nothing to it. Parvati just didn't have any thick coats or jackets or whatever insulation you need against the cold commonly faced on glaciers, I don't know why she didn't have stuff like that, let's just say she's braindead and imagined it all to be sun and surfers and $k8t3r b0i$.

**When is this taking place?**

Eh, it's around mid-October now, when they're in Hawaii.

**Which part of Canada were you trying to describe?**

Not any specific place, just that one entirely fictional, nameless mountain. Mountain. Where it snows. High up. Yeah.

**Why Hawaii now?**

Okay, granted nobody has asked that yet, since I'm writing this before I've even put this up. But I just thought it's as good a time as any. -shrug-

**Yo, who was the weird unknown guy that whispered 'Because I say so' or whatever? Is it some kinda evil, twisted, evil, meddling all-knowing psychic creep?**

No. It was me.

Well, that about wraps it up. If you have any other questions that aren't here, feel free to ask. Oh, and everyone probably expected a new chapter sooner, right? So did I. I intended to get it up before Christmas – I wrote it before Christmas – but my very clumsy brother knocked over a glass of water, right into the PC. No kidding. There was smoke, and some sort of odd sizzling sound. He's spilled I think about three glasses and counting at weddings, restaurants and anywhere fancy. Hmm. So I had to write it all over again on the other com, and I got a little idle with all the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Eh, dui bu qi. Ah well, Merry belated Christmas and Happy belated New Year.

**P.S: **If anyone can guess the song I used for '_And something about the way he looked today ... something about the way she couldn't take her eyes off him ... There was something about the way his lips invited, something about the way she got nervous when he was around ..._' I'm giving them a cookie. Well, I'm not sure if everybody knows American Idol and / or Clay Aiken ... but I live halfway around the world in a positively tiny country and I know it. Hmm.

**P.P.S:** Oh, and thanks to Natasha for all her helpful suggestions! I have to give her her _way_ overdue props. **  
**


	8. Importantish

**(Yesh, this has a point.)**

This is belovedsoul. I'm sorry, but I will no longer go on any more. I've just entered secondary school (I'm 13 this year) and the workload, pressure and just THINGS I need to deal with are taking up all my time. I can't find the will to write, or the interest. All I think about now is … boys. And how to pass that Chinese exam I have this week.

I'm irritated with myself for dropping yet another story, and I'm sure everyone else is too. But it can't be helped. I don't even think about nowadays.

But the point of this is to make a proposal. Today I got a PM from someone asking me if I planned on continuing Silver Seas. I messaged back, saying no. But I felt this sense of loss at this carefully crafted plot going to waste.

So I'm making an offer. If any of you want to continue this story, or write a different version of it or anything at all, I give you all permission to copy and paste or take whatever you want from it and write it yourselves. You can even copy all the previous chapters and start writing from where I stopped. Just be sure to tell me about it so I can read it!  I want to see a finished story as much as everyone else. If you're so kind, you might also credit me accordingly.

I'm not sure if anyone would even _want _to do this, but hey, it's worth a shot, right? If you're even a little bit interested, then go ahead, I fully support you. But once again, tell me if you're going to! I promise to review, hees.

Well, I've got to go call that cute guy from the second row and ask him about homework. Ahem.

Oh, yeah. You can do the same with any of my other stories too, like BOTE. But again again, tell me about it!

**Below is part of Chapter 8 that I'd written before I gave up. I just thought I'd post it, seeing as it's not being put to any use rotting in my folder.**

Hermione woke up early in the day. Her body was damp with sweat from the hot, suppressing sleeping bag. Crawling out of it, she headed out to the beach, the cool air welcoming to her groggy form. She waded instinctively into the calm, refreshing water of the sea before her, continuing in until she was at waist level.

Her hair felt oily and rumpled from her sleep. Hermione ducked her body under the water, smoothening her hair and listening to the current of the waves.

Draco wondered why his bed felt so grainy. And lumpy. And so much like sand. Then he remembered. Climbing gingerly out of the uncomfortable sleeping bag, he stepped out of the stuffy tent and looked around. He judged that it was around eight in the morning.

The gentle, lapping sea looked so inviting. Making his way down to the shore, Draco splashed into the water. It felt cool against his hot skin. He lay in the shallow water, upper body resting on the damp sand of the shoreline. Then, suddenly, he saw something surface from underneath the cover of the sea. A human.

His heart jerked in his chest. _Her. _

Draco made to scramble up from his position on the ground, wanting to avoid an awkward confrontation. Unfortunately, the figure chose that moment to look towards his direction.

"...Malfoy." Said more like a steady, formal greeting than a request for confirmation. Draco cursed and willed her to turn around and ignore him. All he had wanted was to be alone for a few peaceful moments; to be able to relax without any annoying Gryffindors buzzing in his ear. But _no. _He just always had to meet the one that unsettled him the most in the most sensuous of times, in the most private and secluded of places. It was like some all-mighty, godly force from above was determined to throw them together, despite their obvious differences and hatred – like some insane, bloody tyrant. Well, he wouldn't stand for it. No, no, no, no -

"No," he said suddenly.

Granger was just standing there. She frowned at him. "'Malfoy' ... No?"

Draco slapped himself mentally, blundering around for an answer. "Ahem, yes."

Granger looked just as confused, but the beginnings of a smile played on her lips. "Yes?"

_Yes? What kind of stupid answer was that? _Draco screamed at himself. He was getting frustrated. "Whatever. Leave me alone."

_Ah. _Now that sounded more like him. Granger rolled her eyes and turned around, muttering.

"Gay freak."

_What?_

"I am not gay!" Draco screamed childishly at Hermione's back. "You're just being random and nonsensical!"

Actually, Hermione _had _just been being random and nonsensical. She knew Draco wasn't really gay, it was Dean she was suspicious of. She had just felt like throwing a pointless, completely untrue and stupid insult at him to see how he would react. Because it was simply fun.

"Yes you are," she said innocently without turning around.

"I am not!" Hermione could imagine him stomping his feet on the ground indignantly.

"Of course you aren't," Hermione replied, in the 'You're a perfect little angel, sweetie' tone commonly used to soothe toddlers when they got upset and everyone wanted them to stop screaming in everybody else's ears.

Hermione heard splashes, and felt the movement of the water as Draco stalked forwards. She could sense him standing behind her.

"I am _not _gay," he whispered forcefully into her ear, his breath tickling her neck and shifting strands of her damp hair.


End file.
